5 winners and 3 losers from President Biden’s first congressional address

Winner: Obamacare. Loser: Wall Street.

President Joe Biden struck a notably optimistic tone in his first speech before a joint session of Congress, coming after a long pandemic year that has been marked by isolation, loss, and for far too many Americans, death.

“After just 100 days — I can report to the nation: America is on the move again,” Biden said during his speech. “Turning peril into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into strength.”

Biden’s address was not delivered over Zoom; a number of lawmakers, Cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, and guests sat spaced out in the cavernous US House chamber to hear him speak. But the room was far from full, and attendees fist-bumped rather than shaking hands, signals that the Covid-19 pandemic is not yet over.

The coronavirus is still surging around the world, notably in India, but things in the United States are improving; more than half of all adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, cases and deaths are on the decline, and most economic forecasts predict booming growth.

Biden spent a good portion of his speech talking about what he already accomplished, including signing a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package into law. He also previewed the next major phase of his presidency, introducing a two-pronged economic package: the $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan, which invests in building roads and schools, green energy jobs, and supplementing long-term care; and the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, which creates a paid family and sick leave program, dedicates billions to affordable child care, universal pre-kindergarten and two years of free community college. Biden also addressed economic competition with China and told the US Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act by next month.